Preliminary investigations into the Wednesday night gory accident which occurred on the Kintampo-Tamale highway that claimed 61 lives, suggests that the Metro Mass Transit bus may have been overloaded with passengers.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Christopher Tawiah, gave the hint in an interview on Citi Eyewitness News.
The deadly crash occurred when a Metro Mass bus in an attempt to overtake another car in a sharp curve, collided head-on with the truck loaded with tomatoes which was traveling down south.
MMT Bus possibly overloaded
[contextly_sidebar id=”QV2bwjDxG1guwQJM7HGZ5pOu8k9KfaBV”]In calculating the numbers in both vehicles, ASP Tawiah said although investigations have not been concluded, it may not be out of place to suggest that there was overloading.
The MMT’s acting Public Relations Officer, Bernice Akologo, in an interview with Citi Eyewitness News however said the bus in question which has a passenger limit of 61 including the driver, left the Kumasi bus terminal with the exact number.
It is thus unclear how the numbers increased along the way. She says the company has set up a committee to investigate the accident and will come out with its report by March.
The analysis of the numbers
“On the bus, if you want to do mathematics, the cargo truck was carrying passengers which four of them have lost their lives. The drivers ‘mate was sitting on top of the tomatoes so he was thrown somewhere but he survived. If the bus is supposed to take about 70, it should be 75 but the number we are having here, 25 plus 51 then it is like we are having 86 which is not reasonable”, ASP Tawiah stated.
MMT Bus driver likely guilty of wrongful overtaking
According to ASP Tawiah, initial investigations suggest that the accident was caused by wrongful overtaking in a sharp curve by the MMT Bus driver.
That conclusion he says stems from the account of the survivors.
“Our initial investigations have revealed that the accident was caused by over speeding driving and it was from the Metro Mass Bus. It was overtaking the vehicle where they met in the same lane and then they had the head-on collision. The Regional Commander and the Inspector General of Police and some officers of the Ghana Police Service have come to the accident scene to ascertain things for themselves.”
Ghana’s worst road accident in years
This is by far one of the country’s highest casualties in a road crash in the last few years.
The last time such high numbers were killed in any incident, was the twin disaster of flood and fire in Accra that killed over 150 people.
The usual Ministerial visits
The Minister of Transport, Fiifi Kwetey, led by the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Eric Opoku, have visited Kintampo to assess the situation.
The delegation also included Collins Dauda and the acting Inspector General of Police, John Kudalor.
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By: Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AfanyiDadzie